


Artefact

by phantomhive3108



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Artefact, Dalish, Detective, Explosion, F/M, Modern AU, Mystery, Orb, museum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 13:19:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4747886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomhive3108/pseuds/phantomhive3108
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short Modern AU Fiction (SFW) written for jpendragon featuring one of her beautiful OC’s, Ellana and the much-loved Cullen, for the DAFicswap – Round 2.</p><p>Detective Rutherford interrogates their prime suspect: Ellana Lavellan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Artefact

**Author's Note:**

> I toyed around with several different Modern AU ideas I had and got really caught up in this one. Before I knew what I had an alternative opening to DA:I. Originally written as a one-shot but I'm now looking to continue!

The cuffs were beginning to chafe when the door swung open.

The detective stalked in, file in hand. Ellana kept her eyes on the table and cuffed hands. The metal felt cold and cutting.

He took his seat across from her and set the file down. Leaning on one elbow he casually worked his way through the information inside it. The silence hung like a heavy curtain between them. Still she studied the intricacies of her restraints.

Finally, the file was flipped shut and pushed aside. He leaned back and watched her. She could feel his eyes on her without looking up. She concentrated on staying perfectly still as his quiet assessment continued.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t call this an ‘open-shut’ case?” His voice took her by surprise although she wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. It was stern and the words were blunt.

Reluctantly, she pulled her gaze from her hands, to his face. Eyes to match his tone met hers. There was no hostility in them, but no room to hide either. This man would cede no quarter during this interrogation. 

When her reply never came he reached for the file again, flipping it open to the first page. Her driver’s license photo was clipped to it. She cringed at the sight of it. That had not been a good hair day.

“Half the Museum is destroyed. 146 people are dead. Everyone who was anywhere near the East Wing is gone.” His eyes bore into her, driving home the reality of the situation. “Apart from you.” He shrugged. “Care to explain?”

The Detective leaned back, waiting for her response. Ellana, in turn, watched him. Watched how his eyes were locked on hers, searching for a weakness. How the scar on his upper lip moved when he spoke. His hair was neatly combed back, with unruly kinks staying true to their nature. His suit was immaculate, tailored obviously, but his hands betrayed him. They were rough and overworked. This man was no paper pusher. He was hardened and had his wits about him. They had sent in the best to find out what she knew. The problem was she hadn’t a clue what she did know.

“You think I did it?”

“Possibly. Probably. I’m asking you to explain what you were doing when the bomb went off.”

“I already told your colleagues: I was just doing my job. My regular job.” She was tired. Pissed off. Hurting. Those were her friends. Her colleagues. And she’d been locked up for getting out of there with barely a scratch on her and not a shred of memory of the events leading up to the explosion. She wanted to scream but had a niggling feeling that that wouldn’t help her cause.

She lifted her cuffed hands to push the wild strands of red hair from her face. “Look, Detective…?”

“Rutherford.”

“Detective Rutherford. I’m trying to play ball here, but no one is telling me anything either. Please, just tell what happened so that I can at least try to remember.”

His eyes darkened as he leaned forward and reached for the last leaf in the file. He slid it across the table, elbows taking up position on the table whilst she looked down at the photo.

“Do you know what this is?”

It didn’t take her long to recognise the object in the photo. In fact she had taken the photo when she had catalogued it earlier that week.

“Yes. Well, no. Not really.” She breathed out and tried to organise her thoughts. “It arrived with the rest of the shipment of Dalish antiquities on loan from the Halamshiral Museum in Orlais last week. I was in charge of cataloguing and preparing it all, ready for display. That… orb… is an artefact we haven’t quite identified yet. So, to answer your question, yes I recognise it, no I do not know what it is.”

His face changed. Ellana thought she saw… Disappointment?

“Shame. I was hoping that as the Museum’s expert on all things Dalish, you would know.”

Ellana tried to keep up, but the confusion over took her nonetheless. “Wait, what do you mean? What does that orb have to do with anything?”

The Detective took a beat before deciding to answer her. “The Curator of the Museum, a certain Dr…” He flicked the file open a moment. “…Solas, has been assisting us in our investigation and whilst he reported that all artefacts were accounted for- intact or otherwise- he says that this little guy,” He held up the photo once more. “is nowhere to be found.”


End file.
